Fred Fuentes
The left-wing Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) made big gains in the Nicaraguan municipal elections held on November 7. Despite an overall increase in voter abstention from 38% to 44%, the FSLN's vote climbed from 618,821 in the 2000 municipal elections to 737,500. Accounting for 44.63% of the vote, the FSLN won 88 out of the 152 municipalities, and increased the number of departmental capitals it controls from 11 to 15 out of a total of 17. FSLN candidate Dionisio Marenco maintained control of the capital Managua. The biggest losers in the elections were the right-wing Liberal Constitutional Party (PLC) and the new conservative Alliance for the Republic (APRE). With 35.46% of the vote, the PLC won only 43 municipalities.